“For half a century, he took on corrupt politicians, scam artists and bureaucratic bumblers. His visits were preceded by the four dreaded words: Mike Wallace is here,” Safer wrote.

Safer said Wallace was so insistent that “there were very few 20th century icons who didn't submit to a Mike Wallace interview. He lectured Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on corruption. He lectured Yassir Arafat on violence. He asked the Ayatollah Khoumeini if he were crazy.”

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Wallace also interviewed the top political figures in America – including the Reagans, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Eleanor Roosevelt. His last TV appearance was an interview with Roger Clemens, the baseball star fighting allegations of steroid use. That came, Safer said, 65 years after his first appearance on camera in a World War II film for the Navy. “65 years!”